Planning a different ending

Eric Patterson discounts brother's trials with Cubs

August 07, 2007|By Paul Sullivan, Tribune staff reporter

HOUSTON — Eric Patterson begins his Cubs career with the supposed burden of following in the footsteps of brother Corey, whose rise and fall in the organization is a cautionary tale for every up-and-coming prospect.

But Eric doesn't look at things that way and isn't concerned at being treated the same as Corey was by impatient Cubs fans.

"I'm not worried about it at all," Eric Patterson said. "Actually, it's something that's really irrelevant. It has no bearing on what I do."

The 24-year-old Patterson, a left-handed hitter who batted .299 at Triple-A Iowa with 14 home runs and 62 RBIs, will share playing time in left field in Alfonso Soriano's absence. He also can play center and second base, his original position.

The decision to pick Patterson over Felix Pie was based on Patterson's offense at Iowa.

"If we needed someone for pure defense, then it would be Felix," general manager Jim Hendry said. "But [Patterson hits] from the left-side, swinging the bat right now and stealing bases, and he's playing very solid in the outfield. We kicked it around a lot of different ways but in the end, you listen to your [minor league] people."

The Cubs decided to play Patterson more in the outfield this year because of the logjam at second, where Mark DeRosa, Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot were all ahead of him.

"From Day One to now, it's like night and day," he said of his defense. "I definitely feel comfortable out there. I feel like I can definitely hold my own."

Manager Lou Piniella said Patterson will start in left Wednesday night against Astros right-hander Woody Williams. He entered Tuesday's game in the bottom of the ninth in left field and had a sacrifice bunt in the 10th.

Patterson stole 89 bases in his first two minor league seasons but had only 16 steals this year. He said he wasn't running because of the Iowa Cubs' lineup.

"Being a base stealer is not necessarily going out and stealing 70-80 bases a year," he said. "You have to pick your spots and understand the situations. For me, the way the guys were swinging the bats, and with all the left-handed hitters we had, there weren't a whole lot of times where I needed to steal a base. It's definitely still a part of my game."

Perhaps Patterson's biggest fan is his brother. Corey called Eric on Sunday night after Eric got the word of the call-up.

"I feel like we're so close that everything I go through, he's right behind me following me," Eric said. "He's always checking up on me to see how I'm doing. He's definitely very happy for me."